Grote Markt

La Grote Markt — ou la Grand’Place — est la place centrale de Bruges, le lieu incontournable qu’il faut visiter lorsqu’on est à Bruges. Né pas le faire serait une faute, tant elle est l’endroit central de la ville !
Même si on préfère visiter Bruges pour ces canaux, la Grand’Place vaut le détour, notamment pour son beffroi, et son espace ouvert.
Un Must !

Sehr schöner Marktplatz, beeindruckend das Ensemble historischer Gebäude wie dem Belfort.
Umrahmt wird der Platz von sehr vielen mehr oder minder ansprechenden Restaurants, die auf den ersten Blick allesamt die identischen Speisen anbieten.

This is the main square with lovely stepped gable and guild houses with the great backdrops that you expect. The bus runs directly from the train station if you have luggage and most every view is amazing. Good cafes and outdoor restaurants to take in the streets scenes. We arrived on mobility weekend and it is annually closed to cars, really cool that we arrived before it happened and great to walk the entire area and not have to deal with cars. We stayed a little ways away at a AirBnB and it was lovely at night and during the day!

I love how the main square of Brugge just magically appears in front of you when walking down a side street. It’s also somehow appears to be more gentle and open than that of the Brussels Grand Place — I think the belfry is responsible for that humanizing aspect, perhaps?
Lots of tours that you can go on as a tourist are here — we saw segways, horse drawn carriages and also a mini open air bus — prices vary but if tired of walking around Brugge, hop on one of these modes of transport and give your weary feet a rest! BTW, the Saturday morning we came here the smell of horse dung was super pungent!

A must see if you’re a tourist in Brugge (Bruges), Belgium. It is the main square in the city and a good starting point. A 2 – 3 mile walk from the main Brugge train station as well, so not too far away (no need for a taxi or bus).
Walk the cobble stone streets to Grote Markt and take in the sights and sounds of the square. The buildings and churches are old school (back to the medieval and Renaissance days). There are new shops, tons of restaurants, lots of people and is very lively. Take tons of tons, I don’t recommend the horse-​drawn carriage (VERY EXPENSIVE and mucho euros), and look for the river cruise around square.

Beautiful square in the center of Bruges is a great place to relax in spite of large tourist crowds. Grab an overpriced beer at one of the many cafés and enjoy the scenery.

A beautiful market sqaure with so much to do and explore. My advice is that you to take one of the free walking tours as they explain the history behind this this square — It is so worth it!

Beautiful and scenic no wonder they’ve filmed here. So many interesting places and of course CHOCOLATE! If you’re in Brugge make your way to the market and spend some time. The people are lovely, friendly and kind. This American Southerner via London visiting Brugge also recommends carrying a bit of cash to help out the small business owners, y’all. (some don’t take credit cards)

A lovely place to soak in the sunshine or the winter festival in the centre of Brugges. The square itself is flanked on all sides by beautiful buildings that truly make you feel like you’ve stepped back in time. Of course the food places around there are incredibly expensive but standing in the centre, soaking in the vibe and atmosphere and staring up at the buildings is quite special. In the winter you’ll also find the Christmas markets here…
A word on those… We visited Bruges for the soul purpose of visiting Bruges Christmas Markets as I’d heard such great things. I got to Bruges with all the anticipation of a kid waiting for Santa and was seriously disappointed. The market took about five minutes to walk around, there were a few mulled wine/​hot chocolate stalls and a few of the generic Christmas stuff that you’ll find everywhere in the world at Christmas markets and a small ice rink. It was really disappointing. I did, however LOVE the Ghent market, so if you’re contemplating the Christmas markets in Belgium, head straight to Ghent and avoid Bruges, you’ll get better Christmas markets elsewhere!

La Grand-​Place de Bruges est vraiment très jolie.
Beaucoup de monuments historiques et aux architectures néo-​gothiques qui entourent cette belle place. Elle est également entourée de plusieurs petites brasseries, et cet endroit est vraiment très sympa pour s’y poser. Il y a assez souvent des marchés sur celle-​ci !

Place centrale & historique de Bruges ! Vous trouvez aux alentours de cette place de nombreux bâtiments néo-​gothiques dont le fameux beffroi, de nombreux restos & cafés. L’architecture des bâtiments est magnifique !

Der Hauptplatz von Brügge und ein wunderschöner dazu. Wochentags findet hier bis um 13 Uhr ein Wochenmarkt statt, dann sind ausnahmeweise mal mehr Einheimische als Touristen hier unterwegs. Gesäumt wird der mit Kopfstein gepflasterte Platz von sehr schönen mittelalterlichen Gebäuden, deren Fassaden hervorragend erhalten sind. An der einen «Stirnseite» prunkt der Belfort, dessen Besteigung bei schönen Wetter in Brügge ein Muß ist. Leider wissen das auch alle anderen Touristen hier, die Wartezeiten sind enorm. Wohl deshalb wurde direkt neben den Eingang je eine Bude für Fritten und eine für süße Kleinigkeiten (Waffeln etc.) postiert. Die Fritten haben wir nicht probiert, das Fett stinkt über den ganzen platz. Flankiert wird der Platz vom Rathaus, dem historischen Museum und einem Gebäude, welche jetzt die Hauptpost beinhaltet. Rundherum sind im Erdgeschoss der schönen Häuser reichlich Restaurants vorhanden, welche im Schnitt nicht so schlecht sein sollen, wie an touristischen Brennpunkten sonst üblich.
Absolut einen Besuch wert, man kommt allerdings bei der Stadt kaum am Platz vorbei.

This is a beautiful refurbished market square from the Renaissance and earlier times, when Brugges was one of the great ports of Europe. Unfortunately silt filled up the harbor and the city became landlocked and subsequently died. But Brugges is back with a vengeance and the Great Market Place is proof of its vitality.
Have a drink in a café. Eat some food from the stands. And then go on a boat tour of the canals. Its wonderful. And because Brugges had fallen on had times and was pretty much abandoned for centuries, the old buildings were never torn down or replaced. It is one of the perfect medieval cities in all of Europe… the Venice of the north. Don’t miss it.

Ah la Grand-​Place de Bruges ! Je l’ai connue avec un parking en son centre ! Aujourd’hui ce sont des cars entier de touristes qui se retrouvent là pour prendre des photos inoubliables des maisons et palais environnants ! Des brasseries la bordent de qualités inégales, il y a même une FNAC…
Définitivement à voir !

The 12^th Century Belfry Tower is the highlight of the Square.
Public Buses still stop right inside the Square and there is occasion traffic too, so just be careful when you are admiring the buildings and taking Selfies as you might get run over by cars…
There are touristy shops just like any other squares in the Europe. The frites food trucks might be the only few places you can grab a light snack when everywhere is closed after midnight.

I created this entry like a month ago and it sat idle until I could write this review. Interesting, someone found it and snagged the FTR from right under me! that’s what I get for waiting so long. The central market of Brugge is this crazy display of architecture. Medieval times to the the modern span this hectare of land. The central statue if you come on the right day is surrounded by food vendors and the lot of locals/​tourists alike clogging the streets. Cafes, towers, cathedrals, it’s certainly an idealistic looking center.

Una maravilla de plaza medieval actualizada en la que lo mismo comes o tomas café que visitas el edificio en el que se originaron todas las bolsas financieras del mundo o te subes a una torre de hace 7 siglos tan alta que desearías no haber comido previamente.
Quizá resulte un poco incómoda de andar por el adoquinado, pero merece mucho la pena recorrerla edificio a edificio, observando las fachadas y pensando cómo han aguantado tanto tiempo. Luego es cuando llegas al edificio de la Fnac y se rompe la ensoñación, claro, pero mientras tanto…
Mis edificios preferidos según su fachada son el ayuntamiento y el que hoy alberga el Historium, aunque hay que admitir que el de la torre es bastante imponente en su oscuridad.